it's a tough job
by TheaWalker
Summary: A/U - When Gabriel is awoken from a long sleep things have changed dramatically. Her soul mate is locked in a cage, heaven is being torn apart by civil war, new powerful demons are walking the earth and God has commanded her to fix it all. All the while trying to keep the two sons taken from her as babies alive from their deadliest foe. she wished they had left her asleep
1. An Uneasy Alliance

It's a tough job

By

TheaWalker

Prologue

An uneasy alliance

Disclaimer – _I wish they did but unfortunately they don't_

Author Note – _This story has been in my brain for quite the while now and I've finally decided that now is the time to write it. I can't explain too much about it without giving it away but in this story Gabriel is female, The Winchester have never met Gabriel and Lucifer didn't end Gabriel._

_ The whole story was born from one thought I had that the Winchesters always seem more then just human to me on occasions so here we go._

_ Enjoy_

Summary – _Gabriel was awakened by her father with one goal implanted in her mind. Stop the Civil War, Rebuild Heaven and make it as it once was, the only problem is that Gabriel was never one to follow orders. Soon she finds herself distracted trying to save Dean and Sam Winchester from their greatest enemies and retrieve Michael from the cage. Perhaps something's are better left alone._

Romance – _Michael/Gabriel and one sided Castiel/Dean (For the moment __)_

* * *

"so the rumours are true then Gabriel, you have been returned to us" Gabriel felt her eyes drift shut for a moment, her arms wrapping lightly around her stomach as she allowed the sensation of the wind against her face to comfort her. She could smell the heady scents of flowers in the air and the sound of leave rustling in the breeze. It had been so long since she had experienced any sensation that the combination was almost overwhelming to her.

She turned her head, twisting it round so she could look over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Raphael's for a long silent minute. He looked the same as he always had, Tall and built with a proud bearing. She wondered vaguely whether he acted the same and hoped for his sake that he didn't. Raphael had always been the most unpopular Archangel due to his arrogance. Archangels were meant to guide the lower ranks of Angels not rule them.

"It would appear so" she finally said turning to face him, a movement to the side of her caught her attention, she glanced to the side, a slow smile coming to her face as she watched the young man frantically writing in his journal as though he was afraid he would lose his train of thought if he didn't. Lewis Matthews had always been one of her favourite slices of heaven.

There was nothing special about the man at all, he had lived and died simply, unaware of the bigger picture around him and uncaring of it as well. He had been happy and Gabriel had always been envious of that simple life. His slice of heaven was sitting in a park, his back resting against the bark of an old oak tree writing waiting for the love of his life to appear.

"Why did father bring you back? After what happened I thought-" Raphael voice trailed off as he crossed his arms over his chest. Gabriel sighed, clearly her brother hadn't changed.

"Because it appears there is a lack of Archangels at the moment Raphael and rebuilding heaven is more important then my disobedience" she answered. "Father gave you a chance to prove yourself as a leader Brother and you failed. Now he is giving me my chance to see whether I can do any better then you"

"I did fine ruling, I-"

"Allowed a civil war to occur under your watch. You allowed a lower rank of Angel to tear heaven apart and you still have failed to stop it" Gabriel cut in, her voice taking on a sharp note.

"If you knew what Castiel has become then-"

"Excuses Raphael" she responded, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose between the fingers "Nothing has changed has it? You always offer up excuses instead of solutions. Castiel isn't the problem here, you are. Why did they rebel exactly?" she asked him, watching Raphael move awkwardly on the spot "According to father it's because of you, because of your ruling style, Michael never-"she stopped, shaking her head.

"Michael isn't here anymore sister" Raphael stated, his voice deep with repressed anger. "And neither were you because of your mistakes, because of what you did. I did the best I did in the circumstances, the apocalypse has to go ahead you know this. It is written"

"I'm not interested in what is written Raphael" Gabriel stated ignoring his shocked gasp "Our father didn't task me with making sure that happened, he woke me to rebuild heaven, to stop the Civil War and to make us whole again."

"It is written Gabriel, what is written must come to pass" Raphael repeated stubbornly.

"A great many things are written which do not come to pass" she took a step forward ignoring the suspicious look on Raphael's face "Brother" she said softly "There are only two of us left until we figure out a way to get Michael out of the cage. We should work together and get this sorted out. We are stronger if we are together."

Raphael remained silent watching her.

"You plan to get Michael out of the cage?" he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Yes" she replied simply.

"And then you will hand over governing heaven to Michael as it is written" Gabriel sighed but nodded.

"I'm only here as a caretaker" she confirmed "Returning Michael to us is my first goal, that and stopping the war."

"What about Castiel, he must be punished" Raphael demanded "The lower ranks must learn that they must keep in line."

"I shall deal with Castiel myself" Gabriel promised. Raphael's eyes narrowed.

"Will you?" he stated flatly. "I know how fond you are of him because he pulled your-"

"I will deal with him" she snapped, her eyes automatically drifted to the sky watching the sunny sky disappear into darkness, the weather reflecting her mood. She watched Raphael smile at her.

"I will follow you sister" he replied, Gabriel nodded.

"You will need to fill me in on what happened while I was… indisposed" she remarked, choosing her words carefully and ignoring the flash of anger she felt.

"You will need a lot of time" Raphael remarked "A great deal has happened since you left us."

"Time is all I have. Start by telling me how Michael ended up in the cage" she commanded, her eyes narrowing slightly when Raphael's smile widened.

"Your wish is my command Gabriel"

* * *

Author Note – _Yay Prologue is finished! Even better is the fact that I have chapter one written in hand and have started chapter two _

_ Please review!_

Next chapter preview

"Cas" Sam called out when the silence threatened to stretch again "Is there something you'd like to tell us? Is that why you're here?"

"Raphael is no longer a threat. Our Father has apparently replaced him with a new leader?"

"God got involved? I thought he was strictly a deal with this rubbish yourself sort of man" Dean remarked, rubbing at the back of his neck. Castiel looked down "Right I get it don't have a go at your dad" Dean remarked with a sigh "This is good news though right? Isn't it what you wanted for the Ninja Angel not to be the man in charge?"

"Yes Dean" Sam glanced over at Dean with a puzzled look at Castiel's tone. Something was definitely wrong here. Castiel should have been pleased.

"So who exactly has your Dad put in charge then?" Sam asked finally "You?" Castiel looked up

"No not me" he answered "He's brought back another Archangel."


	2. Rain drops keep falling on my head

It's a tough job

By

TheaWalker

Chapter One

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Disclaimer – _None of the characters mentioned belong to me_

Author Note – _Here is chapter one ! Please enjoy_

Summary – _A/U – When Gabriel is awoken from a long sleep things have changed dramatically. Her soul mate is locked in a cage, heaven is being torn apart by civil war, new powerful demons are walking the Earth and God had commanded her to fix it all. All the while trying to keep the two sons taken away from her as babies alive from their deadliest foe… She wished they had left her asleep._

Romance – _Michael/Gabriel, current one sided Castiel/Dean_

* * *

"What the hell is up with this weather?" Sam Winchester muttered to himself as he pulled back the net curtain so he could peer out of the window. He could barely make anything out, just rain thundering down hitting the parked impala outside with so much force that Sam was surprised the glass was still intact.

It was hard to believe that this time two hours ago he had been outside, in a short sleeve t-shirt with the sun beating down on him listening to Dean complaining about the freckles that were breaking out on his nose and cheeks. Then out of the blue, torrential rain had hit complete with flashes of lightening and loud crashes of thunder which made even the brothers flinch as they turned and hightailed it back to the car. Sam couldn't remember the last time he had witness something like it.

He remembered back when he was younger that Dean would tell him that thunderstorms were God's way of showing the world he was pissed off because if he had tried to show it another way he would end up causing way more damage then he wanted to, Sam had known it was rubbish but had clung to the idea.

He shook his head, his eyes on the black sky above them, if what Dean had said had been true then it certainly pointed to God being seriously pissed off over something. For a moment Sam prayed that it wasn't something they had done. The way their luck had been recently he wouldn't have been surprised if it was and the pair of them got hit by lightening the moment they stepped outside.

He turned round, dropping the net curtain as the bathroom door opened and Dean walked out, dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, both of which had seen better days. He was barefooted, rubbing a towel over his wet hair. Green eyes brightened when they met Sam's before he spoke, his voice husky, the tone a mixture of amusement and annoyance, the same tone that Sam heard at least once a day if not more and which he found surprisingly comforting.

"I swear to God Sammy if we have to face one more witch this month then I'm actually going to scream. What was this one? Number six or something?"

"I believe she was the seventh witch this month Dean" Sam replied with a smirk as Dean flung himself on the motel bed with a groan.

"Yeah number Seven, what a Bitch" his voice rose until he was shouting, he stretched again, wincing as his injured body protested against the movement. Even a hot shower hadn't helped as much as he had hoped it would. He lifted his head up slightly peering at his brother as he continued to speak. "I mean it's only the 15th, that like seven witches in fifteen days we've ended. Is July like Witch month or something and we simply missed the memo?" he asked his voice a much more reasonable level. "And what the hell is their fascination with throwing us into wall and keeping us there. Its like they are into some right kinky shit and I don't want any part of it" Sam nodded his agreement as Dean yawned running his hand absently down his face. For a moment it looked like he was going to fall asleep but instead he sat up, his gaze going to the window with a slight frown. "Still raining?" he asked glancing at Sam who nodded.

"If you can call it that" he replied "Flooding is what I call it, I mean look at it. It's so heavy that it almost doesn't look natural." He reached across and pulled the curtain back again just as a bolt of lightening shot across the sky, lighting up the darkness for a moment. Dean whistled.

"As much as I hate the shitty weather, you've got to admit its one hell of an impressive storm" Dean remarked "Hey Sam, how about we stay here tonight instead of heading out like we originally planned to? I could do with the sleep and I don't know about you but I don't even fancy stepping out into that weather let alone attempting to drive in it."

"I was going to suggest the same thing" Sam answered "One shower is enough today. Maybe if it lessens later we can make a run to the car and find somewhere we can eat" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Well I'm no weatherman Sam but I don't think that rain plans on stopping or lessening anytime soon" he reached down and pulled his duffle bag onto his bed, unzipping it and peering inside. Sam shrugged his shoulders, flipping his laptop open as he lowered himself onto the uncomfortable wooden chair by the small desk.

"What exactly are you looking for Dean?" he asked curiously, powering up the machine while he watched his brother search his bag.

"For this Sammy boy" Dean replied in satisfaction, pulling out a white plastic bag. He opened it up and looked inside "I have four cans of Pepsi Max, two large bags of M&Ms, some potato chips and a large tin of Mac and cheese. If the worse comes to the worse Sammy we won't have to starve."

"You have a can of Mac and cheese?" Sam repeated "Bit random considering everything else you have in that bag."

"Hey don't knock the Mac and Cheese" Dean remarked, stuffing the plastic bag back into his duffle and dropping them both on the floor by his bed "Mac and Cheese got us through a lot of tight spots when we were younger. It was one of the only things you would eat"

Sam's face softened as he remembered the countless times Dean had sat over the small portable stove they had cooking the Mac and cheese in a small pan to make sure that Sam didn't go hungry while they waited for their father to return once again from yet another hunting trip.

"I only like Mac and Cheese the way you make it Dean" he remarked after a moment's silence. He glanced up quickly from the screen in time to catch Dean's warm smile before it was replaced by his usual smirk.

"Yeah well let's hope it doesn't come to that" Dean replied before he yawned again. "I'm beat, I'm going to take a nap. Help yourself to the food or a can is you need it" He shot Sam a smile before he snuggled down onto the bed, flipping onto his front and squishing his face into the pillow with a thankful sigh.

"Thanks, I'm not sleepy so I'm going to hit the net and see whether I can spot any new jobs for us ok?" Sam said.

"No witches Sammy" came the tired muffled reply "Don't wanna stare at anymore God Damn Witches" Sam smirked.

"No witches Dean" he promised, shaking his head when Dean made a pleased sound before drifting off. He must have been a great deal more tired then he had been letting on.

Sam had been working for two hours when he heard the familiar flutter of wings which often indicated that Castiel was about to join them. He glanced up from an online newspaper article to see Castiel standing over Dean.

"Hey Cas" he called out, surprised to see the Angel. Visits had been scarce from their friend recently due to the Civil War raging in heaven. For a moment Castiel ignored Sam choosing to stare at Dean with an unreadable expression on his face before he turned to the younger boy and nodded at him.

"Hello Sam"

Sam watched as Dean stirred on the bed at the sound of the new voice, opening his eyes slowly before jumping with a muffled curse when he noticed the Angel.

"Jesus Cas" Dean complained, his voice deep and gruff from sleep. Sam hid a grin, Dean sounded remarkably like Castiel when he first woke up "What are you doing here? Why are you standing right by my bed, watching me while I'm sleeping. We've spoken about you doing stuff like this before Cas."

"I'm sorry Dean" Castiel remarked. Sam smirked when the Angel didn't move away from his brother, if anything he seemed to edge closer "I did not know you would be asleep. It is still day time and normally you are awake."

"Just don't do it again" Dean remarked firmly, shuffling to the side of the bed and standing. He looked surprised to see Castiel right in front of him with little space separating their bodies. He sighed, shaking his head as he placed his hand on Castiel's shoulder, pushing him back so there was a reasonable amount of space between them "Personal space Cas" Dean stated before he dropped his hand from the Angel's shoulder and headed towards the bathroom, yawning as he entered the small room, closing the door behind him.

"You wouldn't think it was day" Sam remarked casually, his gaze going back to the laptop. For some reason he always felt awkward when it was just the two of them. Of course the fact that Castiel was still staring at the bathroom door didn't help matter, occasionally just occasionally Sam almost felt sorry for his older brother.

"It's three in the afternoon Sam, which makes it daytime" Castiel answered finally looking away from the door to look at Sam. Sam sighed shaking his head. Why did Angels have to take things so literally?

"I just meant that the weather is so bad that it's made it dark as night time" Castiel nodded.

"I see, perhaps that's why Dean was asleep, perhaps his body clock is confused, I have heard of such things happening to humans."

"Or maybe it's because we just had a major fight with a pissed off witch who seemed intent on making Dean her personal punch bag" Sam answered absently, writing down the case he had found on a piece of paper to show his brother once he reappeared. "Often the human body will recover by sleeping Cas, its kinda what we do."

"Dean was injured?" Castiel said, Sam glanced up to see Castiel walk to the bathroom just as Dean opened the door. The Angel reached out without a word and touched Dean's forehead "You are healed now Dean" Castiel stated, standing still and blocking Dean's entrance into the room.

"Right thanks for that Cas" Dean replied, he shot Sam a pained looked over the Angel's shoulder when Castiel made no move to get out of Dean's way. Dean sighed, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose before he reached out placing his hand on Castiel's shoulder again and walking forward, pushing his friend back as he did. For a moment Sam wondered whether Castiel was doing it on purpose so Dean would touch him but he pushed the thought away. That was a whole tin of worms which Sam had no desire to open.

Sam stood, stretching with a groan before he headed to the bed he had claimed as his own; it was his turn for a nap now. He sat down watching when Dean mirrored his move leaving Castiel standing awkwardly in front of them.

"Find anything Sammy?" Dean asked, his eyes fixed on Sam as he reached down and grabbed a Pepsi max from his bag, opening it and taking a long swig from it.

"I found five definite cases, eight maybes and four which I'd like you to take a look at" Sam responded running his hand through his hair. Dean nodded looking tired.

"Say what you will about Crowley, the son of a bitch certainly hasn't been slacking" Dean sighed and held out his hand for the papers, taking them from Sam, his brain clearly going into work mode. "Iffy cases on the laptop?" he queried, his eyes already scanning the first case, he snagged a pen from the table between them and began scribbling notes in the corner. People always assumed Dean was the stupid one but Sam was pretty sure it was because they had never seen Dean in his work mode.

"I saved them as favourites" Sam confirmed, leaning his head back against the headboard and closing his eyes. There was a moment's silence broken only by the sound of Dean's pen and the odd rustling of paper when suddenly there was a very loud awkward cough. Sam's eyes shot open in confusion.

"What the hell was that Cas? You got a frog in your throat or something?" Dean demanded giving Castiel a confused look.

"There is no frog in my throat Dean" Castiel confirmed seriously "I have observed that when humans want the attention of another human they cough out loud" the Angel stated.

Sam blinked shaking his head.

"Cas" Sam called out when the silence threatened to stretch again "is there something you'd like to tell us? Is that why you're here?"

"Raphael is no longer a threat. Our Father has apparently replaced him with a new leader"

"Wait are you telling us that God actually go involved in something to do with heaven? I thought he was a strictly deal with this rubbish yourself sort of guy" Dean remarked rubbing the back of his neck when Castiel glared at him "Right I get it don't have a go at your Dad" he backtracked with a sigh "This is good news thought right? Isn't this the reason you went to war in the first place? To make sure the Ninja Turtle didn't rule?

"Yes Dean" Sam glanced over at Dean with a puzzled look at Castiel's tone. Something was definitely wrong here. Castiel should have been pleased.

"So who exactly had your Dad placed in charge then?" Sam asked finally "You?" Castiel look at Sam as though he had grown another head.

"No not me" he answered "He has brought back another Archangel"

"I didn't think there were any Archangel's left other then Raphael. Michael and Lucifer are still in the cage" Sam said ignoring the flash of terror he felt as he thought of those two Archangels.

"She was… indisposed during that time" Castiel remarked hesitantly, clearly choosing his words carefully.

"Wait a minute, She?" Dean remarked in surprise. "I thought all Archangels were dudes?"

"No, not her" Castiel remarked, a strange tone to his voice that made the brothers share another concerned look, they hadn't seen Castiel like this in a long time.

"Don't tell me you have a crush on her Cas" Dean said, a grin on his face which didn't show in his worried eyes.

"No" Castiel replied instantly, shaking his head.

"Right… no crush then" Sam said slowly "Does she have a name this Archangel?" he pressed.

"Gabriel" Castiel answered quietly, his eyes looking around him as though he expected her to appear when he uttered her name. There was a moment's pause.

"Wait did you say Gabriel? The Archangel Gabriel who certainly looks like a dude and who went to visit all those people when God chose them for something important?" Dean demanded "That Gabriel?"

"Yes" Castiel said shortly "But as I've told you before Dean Angels do not have a sex" he pointed out "it's out vessels which are male or female not us."

"Yeah" Sam butted in "But you're the one who keeps referring to Gabriel as she or her, not us" he pointed out. Castiel shrugged looking awkward.

"It is hard to explain, Angels has an essence which can be more masculine or feminine, the essence often helps us find out true vessels. Gabriel has a more feminine essence then all other Angels. She has never been a Dude as you put it Dean. When she visited Mary and Jesus and the countless of others she was told to visit she always went in the same female vessel. She had never used another. Apparently the body God gave her to complete his task was the body she would have had if she was human. Apparently that is the point of a true vessel. I would look like this if I was human" he waved a hand at himself "Michael would look like Dean and Lucifer like Sam."

"Ok that's kinda creepy" Dean muttered sharing a look with Sam. It was bad enough being told they were true vessels without finding out that the Archangel wanting to ride their bones would have looked exactly like them if they were human.

"The vessel God created for Gabriel was female. That with the feminine essence all point very clearly to Gabriel being a girl, in her human form and in her Archangel form"

But the Bible-" Same began.

"Got it wrong" Castiel said looking awkward again "The prophets at the time didn't like the fact that one of the Archangels was female and so they changed it to suit the ideals at the time. Women were viewed as second class citizens back then; it wouldn't do to have such a powerful figure as an Archangel as a female…" he paused for a moment "Gabriel was not best pleased when she found out"

"Right so what you're telling us in your random Castiel language is that this new head honcho Gabriel is the equivalent of smurfette in heaven then?" Dean asked a smile coming to his face at Castiel's confused expression.

"I don't understand your reference Dean" he stated flatly.

"Ignore him Cas" Sam suggested "What I don't get is if she is the messenger of God who goes to chosen people then why didn't she come to speak to Dean. Dean was… is Michael's true vessel surely he's important, you all went through enough effort to rescue him so why didn't she come. She's clearly God's most potent weapon when it comes to persuasion. You've only got to read the bible to see that."

"She was… indisposed" Castiel repeated again.

"Seems your Gabriel is always indisposed when she is needed" Dean said angrily "Too indisposed to get involved in the apocalypse, too indisposed to visit me with God's words, too indisposed to show her face at the beginning of the Civil war when everything went shit, too indisposed to stop your all important weapons getting nicked out of heaven. What exactly is she good for?"

"Dean-"Castiel interrupted.

"What Cas?" Dean demanded

"She is in charge of heaven now. This" he pointed at the weather outside the window "Is because she's angry over something, don't make her anger worse. You don't-" he stopped.

"I don't what Cas?" Dean said, Castiel looked up staring at Dean for a moment as though he was memorising his features and then he was gone.

"Son of a bitch" Dean shouted smacking his hand on the duvet cover "I really hate when he does that disappearing act"

Sam nodded his head, unable to shake off the expression on Castiel's face just before he left. He had looked afraid which only meant one thing.

They were in danger.

* * *

Author note – _Another chapter done and dusted! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review but no flames._

Next chapter preview

"God didn't bring you back for you to start the second flood Gabriel" Joshua remarked calmly, looking over at the angry Archangel "You have allowed the weather to reflect your rage for hours now. You normally have more control, what could have you so riled up after one day of being awakened"

Gabriel met his eyes.

"Raphael informed me of how Michael got caught in the cage"

"Ah" the sound was more a breath then a sound as Joshua's shoulders hunched over "We had hoped that you wouldn't find out quite this soon"

"Really?" she replied "Well perhaps someone should have made sure Raphael had the memo" she paused for a moment, her voice sounding vulnerable and quiet when she next spoke.

"Is it true?" she asked.

"Yes Gabriel, I'm afraid so"

Gabriel choked for a moment. Out of everything she had imagined she hadn't pictured anything as bad as this.

"What am I to do?" she demanded

"I don't know Gabriel, I really don't know"


	3. Chapter 3

It's a tough job

By

Thea Walker

Disclaimer – _Clearly I do not own the Archangel Gabriel or the Angel Joshua or in fact any of the characters mentioned in the below chapter. Does anyone ever own an Angel?_

Author Note – _So sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Real life got crazy! Anyway enjoy_

Summary – _A/U – When Gabriel is awoken from her long sleep things have changed dramatically. Her soul mate is locked in a cage, heaven is being torn apart by civil war, new powerful demons are walking the Earth and God has commanded her to fix it all. All the while trying to keep the two sons taken from her as babies from their deadliest foes… she wished they left her asleep_

Romances – _Michael / Gabriel_

_ One sided Castiel/Dean (At the moment)_

* * *

Gabriel found her self in the garden.

It wasn't a conscious decision on her part. She had been with Raphael listening to every poison word that left his mouth before it had gotten too much for her to listen to and she had left in a flurry of wings. She had taken to the upper skies trying to escape what she had learnt.

How could her father had allowed it to happen? Was it part of her punishment? Was that why he truly awoken her? So she could see exactly what her disobedience had caused. She shuddered at the thought. Could it be that everything which had happened was in fact her fault because of what she did for Dean?

She wasn't sure how long she flew plagued by despair and fear. She had been aware of other lower ranking Angels stopping to watch her. It was no surprised, there were no Angels more graceful in flight then an Archangel and with so few of them left it was probably a rarity to see the sight. She was just thankful that none of the attempted to approach her.

She had landed in the garden, her wings wrapping around her in an attempt to comfort her. The area appeared deserted at first glance. She stood by the old oak tree which had been there since the beginning of time, one hand reaching out to touch the bark as she breathed deeply allowing the stillness and peace to enter her grace and to calm her, soothing her torrid emotions.

This had always been a place she had come to when she needed to escape her brothers or father. A place where there were no rules and restrictions placed on her. A place she could for a moment just be herself. It was a fleeting feeling but one she clung to. She was an individual, she would not become one of the flock not like the lower ranks allowed them to be.

All but one lower ranked Angel anyway. There was one who had become individual.

She frowned, running her hand down the bark. One she would have to deal with one way or another.

She glanced around her again. The garden hadn't changed and for that she was thankful, everywhere seemed different somehow, there was so much resentment and anger, Brother against Brother, Sister against Sister. This was not the heaven that she and Michael fought so hard to preserve. This was a heaven on the edge of tumbling past a point of no return.

She couldn't allow it. She couldn't let hers and Michael's dream be shattered.

He would want heaven to be like it was when he returned to her side.

"I wondered when I would see you again Gabriel, I have been waiting for you to arrive here for quite a few hours, ever since I felt the disturbance in our Graces telling us that you had been returned to us by our father. Your return could not be at a better time Gabriel."

Gabriel lowered her hand from the tree, twisting on the spot. Her eyes widened for a moment before a smile came to her face. Her grace pulsing warmly as she took a step towards the other Angel.

"Joshua" she answered "It is good to see you again old friend"

"It is more then good to see you Gabriel. I have missed you, Michael was not the same while you were gone" Gabriel insides twisted at Joshua's words but she ignored them instead remaining silent. It was an easy silence, one born of familiarity.

A glance at his hand revealed a pair of sheers, the sight of the silver making her smile. Joshua had always been the Keeper of the Garden of Heavens since the beginning and as such he had always been there when she arrived upset. She had spilled her secrets and thoughts to him on more then one occasion and he had always listened to her with the same gentle, comforting manner as he did now.

He had often given her wise advice though she had not always heeded that advice when she should have.

Her eyes narrowed as she thought back to what she had learnt. There had to be something which she could do but she had no idea what.

"God didn't bring you back to start the second flood Gabriel" Joshua remarked calmly, breaking the silence which had descended between them, her looked over at her as he continued to speak "You have allowed the weather on Earth to reflect your rage for many an hour now. You out of all your fellow Archangels were the one known for control. What could have you so riled up after only one day of father awakening you?"

Gabriel looked up, meeting his eyes with a cold stare.

"Raphael informed me of how Michael was dragged into the cage" she answered.

"Ah" the noise was more a sharp intake of breathe then a sound of acknowledgment. She watched as Joshua's shoulders hunched over, his wings coming round to cover him protectively "I see, we had hope that you wouldn't have found out quite as quickly as this. We wanted to give you time to settle back in"

"Really?" she replied bitterly "Well if that was the case perhaps someone should have informed Raphael of this fact" she paused for a moment, her voice sounding vulnerable and quiet when she next spoke. "Is what he said true Joshua?" she asked.

There was a slight pause.

"Yes Gabriel, I'm afraid so"

Gabriel choked for a moment, a low keening sound of pain escaping her throat. Out of everything which could have happened while she was being punished this was the worst. This hurt more then anything she had experienced in her long life.

"What am I to do?" she demanded.

"You will do what father commanded Gabriel" Joshua answered, his voice firm and determined as he took a step towards her. "You will start by finishing this civil war and making us one again."

"Castiel" Gabriel replied "I shall have to speak to him, Raphael said he leads the opposition to my brother" she nodded, glancing back at Joshua. "Where is Castiel, I do not sense him in heaven."

"Castiel will be on Earth with the Winchester brothers, it is where he always is when he is not in heaven."

Gabriel's face hardened at the name.

"I cannot descend to the Earthly plain unless summoned by a human" she stated bluntly "Or unless father sends me. This is the way of an Archangel."

"Then it is time you brought Castiel home yourself Gabriel."

* * *

Author note – _Next chapter shall be up soon! I hope you enjoyed _


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